People

	Joan Chiao is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Brain, Behavior & Cognition and Social Psychology programs at NU. She is also affiliated with the NU Neuroscience Institute, Cognitive Science, Asian American Studies, Technology and Social Behavior and Multidisciplinary Program in Educational Science programs. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Harvard in 2006 and her B.S. in Symbolic Systems with honors from Stanford in 2000. When not psychologizing, she likes to learn about cephalopods, play ultimate, travel to long-forgotten parts of the earth and cook for the masses with family and friends.
	Tokiko Harada is a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab. Dr. Harada's research interests center on the neural bases of self-awareness and free will. She completed her Ph.D. in Physiology 2005 at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences. When not uncovering the mysteries of mind and brain, she plays a mean game of badminton and enjoys the piano.
	Zhang Li is a postdoctoral visiting scholar in the lab. Dr Li's research interests include cultural influences on neural representations of the self. Dr. Li completed his Ph.D. at Peking University in 2005 and subsequently held a faculty position at Capitol Normal University in Beijing.  Outside of lab, Dr. Li enjoys classical music and traveling.
	Genna Bebko is a 3rd year graduate student in the NU Institute for Neuroscience (NUIN). She graduated from Allegheny College in 2005 with a B.S. degree in Neuroscience and Psychology along with a Chemistry minor. She is currently researching perceptual and neural processes underlying emotion regulation. Her other research interests include affective, developmental, gender, and consumer neuroscience. When out of lab, she enjoys traveling to tropical locations, hiking, cooking, watching Reno 911!, and spending time with family and friends.
	Bobby Cheon is a 1st year graduate student in the NU Social Psychology program. He received his B.A. in Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia. He is interested in investigating the cultural and neural basis of social behaviors and attitudes. In his spare time, Bobby enjoys traveling, listening to music and exercising.
	Vani Mathur is a first year graduate student in the Brain, Behavior & Cognition program at NU. She received her B.S. in Human Physiology from Boston University in 2005. She is most interested in pain processing and perception, and clinically and publicly relevant applications of pain research. Other than the human brain, Vani's loves include the ballet, BBQ, and her friends and family.
	Trixie Lipke is a technical research assistant aka the lab guru. She graduated from Northwestern University in 2007 with a B.A. degree in biology and psychology. She is planning to apply to graduate school soon after she figures out everything. Outside of the lab and working with kids, Trixie can be spotted at a Hello Kitty store or on the tennis courts.
	Diana Carlson is a senior undergraduate working on her senior honors thesis this year under the wise guidance of Joan Chiao. When not psychoanalyzing friends and family, she can be seen on the dance floor dancing anything from waltz to paso doble. Also, she just got back from a year abroad in France and Cameroon, and if you ask her she may indulge you with a few stories. A la prochain et bonne journée!
	Jessica Gayda is a NU senior majoring in Math and Cognitive Science, so far keeping a pretty broad interest in both subjects. She is currently completing her senior honors thesis on neural bases of virtual social interaction. Mostly, she enjoys watching Project Runway, shopping, and reading blogs about the two.  Worried for the taste-level of these interests, Jessica would also like to claim a fondness for books, music, and the company of friends and Gaydas.
	Andrea Katz is a senior NU psychology major who hails all the way from Skokie, IL. She's working on her senior thesis studying the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) on neural bases of empathy. She enjoys being over-committed, but when she's not doing schoolwork or extracurricular activities, she enjoys dance, theatre, karate, reading non-textbooks, drinking iced coffee, and watching reruns of "Friends".
	Suegene Lee is a junior psychology major from Athens, GA. She did want to go to medical school after graduation, but now is having a quarter-life crisis and deciding whether or not to go down that road. When not stressing out about potential career options and life in general, she likes to draw, shop, and watch movies and a wide array of trashy tv.
	Sohad Murrar is a Northwestern sophomore with a major in Psychology and a minor in Film & Media Studies. She plans to attend graduate school after graduation to do research on the effects of various aspects of film on the mind and emotions. She enjoys watching movies (no surprise there), writing poetry, playing basketball, hanging out with family and friends, and a boatload of other activities typically enjoyed by people.
	Patrick Slevin is a sophomore majoring in percussion performance and psychology in the NU double degree program. After graduating he would like to find work that utilizes both music and psychology, such as cognition, neuroscience, or perhaps by working for a record company. In his spare time he enjoys blogging and surfing the blogosphere, spending time outdoors, and eating sushi with lots of wasabi.
	Renny OConnor is a high school junior at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. She has figure-skated competitively most of her life as well as plays competitive soccer for IMSA. She is also a class representative in Student Council. She is really interested in psychology and hopes to study it in college. Renny love kids, and wishes to work in the field of psychology with children and families in the future.
	Feifei Ye is currently a junior at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Acadmey in Aurora, IL. Fei was born in China, but raised in Dunlap,IL. She plans on studying pyschology and neurology in college. Her research interests are decision making, adolescent development, and social relationships. At school, her main extracurricular commitments are yearbook and Junior State of America (JSA). Fei enjoys going on cruises, shopping, volunteering at the hospital, and playing piano.

Lab Alumni

	Emily Oby rotated in the lab in Spring 2007 and studied the neural bases of social hierarchy representations in inferior parietal cortex. She is currently a 2^nd year grad student in NUIN and was recently appointed to the Early Years Training grant. Congrats Emily!
	Donna Jo Bridge was a technical research assistant in the lab from 2006-07. Knowledgeable in all things R and Latex, she brought serious computational mojo to the lab. During her lab tenure, Donna completed several studies on social perception and social comparison. She is currently continuing her research journey as a 1^st year grad student in NUIN.
	Nick Bowman was a postgraduate research assistant in the lab from 2006-07 and studied the effects of gender on decision-making. More recently, he has bravely ventured into the exciting new field of neuroeconomics. He is currently continuing his research as a 1^st year grad student in NUIN.
	Melinda Chan was a senior undergraduate research assistant majoring in Psychology at NU from 2006-07. Melinda assisted on too many studies to count. Sadly, we could not convince her that her true calling is in Psychology though happily, she is currently her dream of dentistry as a grad student at UIC. Go teeth!
	Vivian Crosby was a junior research assistant in the lab from 2006-07. She is currently a senior NU Psychology major and kick-ass violinist.
	Xiaoxi Liu (aka wheat_thin) was a research assistant in the lab from 2006-07. Now, she is currently focusing on her studies as a NU sophomore.
	Marisa Luna was a summer research intern in the NU SROP program in 2007. She completed a massive study examining the pond effect in economic decision-making. She is currently completing her senior honors thesis at SDSU en route to applying to Clinical Psych Ph.D. programs.
	Amelia Mutso was a summer research intern in the lab in 2007. She worked diligently on a study examining individual differences in pain perception and response. Currently, she is completing her B.A. in Psychology and senior honors thesis at Haverford College en route to grad school in Biological Psychology/Neuroscience.
	Chantel Liggett was a high school senior intern from the prestigious Illinois Math and Science Academy in 2006-07. She is currently a freshman at Duke University continuing her studies on human sexuality.
	Sarah McPike was a high school senior intern from the prestigious Illinois Math and Science Academy in 2006-07. She is currently a freshman in college continuing her studies on human sexuality.